Red Dirt is the tale of 3 young Irish travellers who have gone to Australia to escape the Irish recession. They are full of hope, wanting experience a new better life, but reality throws obstacles in their way, temptations and causes acts of desperation.

The book opens in a back-packers hostel in Perth. Murph and Shane have failed a job interview due to their heavy drinking and drug taking, yet they continue to drink away their money. At rock bottom they agree to a job on a farm picking fruit in the outback, dragging a new fellow, Hopper with them. The drinking and drugs lead to an accident which haunts Murph for months.

The farm is rough, and life harsh. They befriend Fiona, the Irish sticking together. When tempers boil over, Murph, Shane and Fiona leave. But back in Perth Murph is restless with fear and leaves Fiona behind.

The next part of the book is Fiona’s tale, abandoned in a cheap hostel by Murph, with money running out, she sinks to an all time low. She’s so broke she’ll do anything and is taken out into the bush to house keep for a very rough family. Escaping with only the clothes she stands in, Fiona spends days alone in the bush until she finds hope in the form of a kind couple.

The third part of the book is Hopper’s tale, his own reasons for being in Australia and how he arrived at Perth, it brings the story to a full circle.

This book delves into the depths of humanity as the three characters search for answers and put some personal demons to rest. It isn’t for the faint hearted 277 F-bombs, heavy drinking and drugs abound and definitely don’t read this if you are about to send off your off-spring back-packing around the world.

Hi, Rosie – Glad you mentioned it’s not for the faint of heart. Some people really can’t read anything gritty. I like the sound of these characters.
@dino0726 from FictionZeal – Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews